Improvement



W. R. ILES. w. Check-Row Dropper Attachment for Corn-Planters.

No. 222,278. Patented Dec. 2, I879.

WITNESSES:

ATTORNEYS.

N-FEYERS, PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHEI. WASHINGTON, n '3 tongue.

UNITED STATES PATENT m y WILLIAM R. ILES, OF FAIRMOUNT, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN CHECK-ROW DROPPER ATTACHMENTS FGR CORN-PLANTER S.

Specification forming'part of Letters Patent No. 222,278, dated December2, 1879; application filed October 1, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM R. Inns, of Fairmount, in the county ofVermillion and State of Illinois, have invented a new and ImprovedCheck-Row Dropper Attachment for Corn-Planters and I do hereby declarethat the following is a full, clear,'and exact description of thesame,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of thisspecification, in which I Figure 1 is a front elevation; Fig. 2, avertical section through the line 00 m of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan.view.- Figs. 4 and 5 are details of the oscillating wheel. Fig. 6 is adetail of the clamping device for connecting the pit-man with theseed-slide.

My invention relates to an improved checkrow planter of that generalform in which a or chain acts to impart the motion to the seedslides;secondly, in the peculiar construction of guides from which therope orchain passes out to the front and rear of the machine 5 and, thirdly, inthe peculiar means for connecting the pitman to the seed-slide, all ashereinafter fully described.

In the drawings, A represents a bar constituting the main frame, and Bis the tongue extending at right angles therefrom. O are runners whichsupport the main frame, and above which, at theirrear ends, are locatedthe seed-boxes D D.

To the common form of seed-planter, as so far described, is attached myimproved checkrow device, consisting of two principal parts, thedropping mechanism and the guides for the rope. A The dropping mechanismis mounted upon a metal frame, E, having two down wardly-projectin gplates, FF, which straddle the tongue and are securely bolted to thesame, the said bolts passing through slots to permit a verticaladjustment of the frame on the These plates F are made also adaxle, butwhich wheels at the center are entirely disconnected, and are boltedtogether midway between their centers and their 'rims by bolts to a, andupon which bolts between the wheels loose guide-rollers b b are placed.

These twin wheels, at two diametrical portions, as, of theirperipheries, are set a distance wide enough apart from each other toadmit the lugs or tappets c of the chain H, and at thein tervenin gpoints y are set closer together, so that while the wire links of thechaiu can pass between, the passage of said lugs or tappets 0 isopposed. Extending from one of these portions 3 of the peripheries ofeach wheel to the other diametrical portion are two double-curvedplates, 2 2, which are parallel with each other, and throughout theirentire extent preserve the same adjacent position to each other thatthey do atth'e periphery of the wheel. This twin wheel is not designedto rotate, but simply oscillates from the action of the cord or chain,in a manner which will hereinafter be described.

For limiting the extent of oscillation, lugs e e on the wheels strikeagainst stop-projection ff of the frame E, while for' holding the wheelagainst rebound at the "end of each oscillation a spring, g, connectsthe frame E with an offset on the front wheel 'by'one of the bolts a. Asthe wheels oscillate a crank, h, attached to the rear wheel, oscillateswith its pin in a slot in a weighted arm, '5, attached to a rock-shaft,j, which shaft is. journaled in bearings in parallel position with thetongue, and at its rear end has a crank-arm, k, connected by pitman Iwith the seed-slide m. For varying the throw of the seed-slide thepitman lmay be adjusted for greater or less throw by being inserted inanyone of a then bent forward at right angles into a horizontalposition. Upon the upper surface of these plates is arranged a taperingseries of rollers, 0 0 0, which converge toward the wheel and arearranged upon axes fastened between the lower plates, J, and upperplates, J, which latter are secured to the lower plates by means ofpillars p. The guide-frames thus formed are in the nature of taperingmouths, converging toward the wheels and widening ontwardly with acurve.

The object of this peculiar construction is to allow the machine to beturned around at the end of a row without removing or disconnecting therope or chain, the latter being simply reversed in position in theguide-frames, or thrown from one side to the other of the same.

The arrangement of the series of rollers, it will be seen, is on eachside, in the arc of a circle of a very much larger radius than anysingle pulley which can be practically employed, and herein lies anotheradvantage, for the reason that there is much less friction and bindingin the rope or chain in turning the two angles of the machine. This isespecially advantageous when a chain made of linked rods is employed.

For connecting the pitman l to the seedslide three plates, q 1' s, Fig.6, are employed. Of these plates the lower one, q, has simply twoperforations, through which the bolts 23 pass, while '1" has twocorresponding holes and a central vertical stud, and s has a recess,into which the stud projects, and two holes also, through which thebolts t pass. Between the plates q and r the feed-slide is clamped atany suitable point on said slide, with the eye of the pitman enteringthe recess of s, and the pin of 1' passing through the eye of the pitmanand into a seat in the upper plate, 8, so that when the bolts taretightened the pitman is firmly, but loosely, fastened to the plates, andthe latter rigidly clamped to any portion of the feed-slide.

With respect to this feature, I do not claim, broadly, operating thefeed-slide through an adjustable connection, but only the peculiarconstruction and arrangement of the parts forming said connection.

In the operation of my devices I prefer to use a metal chain, H,composed of link-rods having tappets or lugs, for the reason that a ropewill at times become contracted by dampness and throw the rows out ofcheck. This chain is staked or anchored at opposite sides of the fieldin the usual manner, or is fixed to an anchor traveling on a guide, andruns from one end to one of the guide-frames, thence at right angles tothe line of draft to the twin wheels,

thence to the other guide-frame, and from this point to the other sideof the field. Now, as the machine moves across the field, the chain withits tappets enters the twin wheel through the wide spaces between thetwo wheels, and passes in the direction of the arrow between the rollersb b. Now, the parts being in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 3, thefirst tappet a strikes the upper edges of curved bars z z, and as itcannot pass through the result is that the wheel is thrown into theposition shown in dotted lines, Fig. 1. The next tappet then, passingbetween the wheels below the bars 22, strikes the under side of the sameand throws the wheels in the direction of the dotted arrow into theoriginal position again, and so on the wheel is oscillated by thetappets on the chain as the machine is drawn across the field. When themachine is moved in the opposite direction the symmetrical constructionof the wheel permits a similar action to take place.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is 1. Thecombination, with a rope or chain having tappets c thereon, of the twinwheel having wide spaces to a: and narrow spaces y 3 on its periphery,the said wheels having their diametrical parts at y 3 connected bycam-bars z 2, together with mechanism for connecting the oscillatingtwin wheel with the seedslide, substantially as described.

2. The twin wheels having independent axes,cam-bars z z, and connectedby bolts carryin g rollers b b, in combination with a chain andmechanism for communicating the motion to the feed-slide, substantiallyas described.

3. The oscillating twin wheels G G, having lugs e 6, combined with theframe E, having stop-projections f f, and a spring, g, for resisting therebound, substantially as described.

4. The guide-frames consisting of the rightangular plates J, the doubleseries of circu-' larly-arranged rollers 0 0 0, the pillars p, and theupper plate, J, combined with a checkrow dropper operated by a cord orchain, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with the pitman and seed-slide of a corn-dropper, ofthe clampplate q, plate 9", having vertical stud, plate 8, having arecess, and the bolts t, passing through, all substantially asdescribed.

The above specification of my invention signed by me this 25th day ofSeptember, 1879.

WILLIAM R. ILES.

Witnesses:

EDWD. W. BYRN, SoLoN G. KEMoN.

